The present invention relates to an improved apparatus for dispensing paste, cream or the like from a collapsible tube.
At the present time there are numerous products on the market which are housed in a collapsible container. Generally, the collapsible tubes which contain such products are squeezed by hand to discharge the contents thereof. A number of disadvantages have resulted from dispensing the contents of a collapsible tube by hand. It has been found that the tube becomes badly twisted which may cause a cracking of the tube wall thus resulting in loss of the product through the cracks when the tube is squeezed. In addition, it has generally been observed that a twisted tube cannot be squeezed sufficiently so as to completely expel the contents thereof thus resulting in the tube being discarded prior to complete evacuation. Finally, the general unsightly appearance of a twisted tube laying in full view in the bathroom is highly undesirable.
It is naturally highly desirable to develop an improved apparatus for dispensing paste from a tube so as to overcome the above-noted disadvantages. One such apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,837,243 in which a case is employed for holding a collapsible tube. A pair of rollers are actuated to move so as to collapse the tube and force paste therefrom. While this apparatus overcomes the disadvantages noted above it suffers from numerous disadvantages the most serious being the complexity of the gear mechanism, the large number of movable parts and the costly expense for making such a complex device.
A more simplified dispenser is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,860,147. While this dispenser has greatly reduced the complexity and number of movable parts over that of the previously noted U.S. patent, this apparatus still suffers from a number of inherent disadvantages. Firstly, in order to obtain greater amounts of paste, the brush must be constantly thrusted back and forth so as to actuate the gear which moves the rollers. In addition, the casing must be taken apart in order to reach a gear mechanism which must be manually operated to return the rollers to their initial position. Finally, there is no mechanism for indicating when the rollers have reached the end of the rods and thus expelled all the paste from the tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,738,533 discloses an electric motor operated toothpaste dispenser in which an electric motor drives a pair of rollers through a speed reducing gear train. Again, as is the case with the previously discussed U.S. patents, a number of disadvantages are inherent in the disclosed device. These problems are namely the cost of the gearing system, the failure to provide a closure cap for the tube which would allow for the paste to dry and the lack of an indicating means for making the operator aware of when the rollers are approaching their lowermost position and all the paste is expelled from the tube.
Accordingly, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide an improved dispensing apparatus which is both simple in construction and limited in the number of moving parts.
It is a particular object of the present invention to provide an electrically operated dispenser which is actuated by toothbrush positioning.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved mechanism for indicating when the tube is fully collapsed.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide improvements as aforesaid which are convenient and inexpensive to utilize and which result in high efficiency.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will appear hereinbelow.